


Here We Are

by sombur



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: F/F, F/M, Kinda, There will be fluff, as of now anyway, no one dies, so youre safe from angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:23:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4490007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sombur/pseuds/sombur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura and Carmilla are the only ones at the gym and things are pretty awkward to say the least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Come Here Often?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt to writing fanfiction, so here ya' go. Have fun and i hope you enjoy it! (:

It was 7am on a Monday morning and Laura decided to go to the gym. It felt like those six weeks of summer school really took a toll on her, and well, she decided today that she should start working out again after barely being able to squeeze in her jeans the other day. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to get a head start for soccer conditioning. It was only three weeks that she had off, but at least she’ll have an advantage over the other girls and won’t be dying for the first week of conditioning. She threw on some old leggings, a baggy old tee, and grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge. She left a quick note for her roommate, Danny, letting her know she’ll be out for a bit then left the dorm as silently as possible making sure not to wake her up.

When she arrived at the gym she was the only one there which didn’t surprise her, everyone else was probably out partying or visiting their parents. Laura’s dad came to mind, she made a mental note to call him later. He was always busy because of his work schedule, but he always made time for Laura. Laura surprised her dad just last month by going down for a weekend so they could go to the carnival. They always went to the carnival together, so really, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but Laura’s dad always acted so shocked when Laura arrived. Laura decided it was just her dad’s way to try and act all adorable and dramatic, which worked because it warmed Laura’s heart every single time she saw her father’s priceless reaction. Laura also managed to bring back a stuffed raccoon and had it on the top of her wardrobe, the rest of her stuffed animal collection was back at home with her dad.

Laura set her water bottle down and hopped onto the treadmill nearest to the door. She did a quick warm up jog then continued to lift some weights afterwards (Those arms don’t get toned themselves, y’know). By the time she had finished lifting, she noticed a raven-haired girl there. She noticed her because one, wow, no one should look that good in gym clothes. Two, she noticed she had been subtly staring at Laura form across the room since she was lifting, or at least trying to be subtle. Or maybe Laura was just imagining things because really, who would wanna stare at her in the clothes she’s wearing right now? And three, she was kinda the only other person there. So that’s kinda hard to not notice.

As Laura got up and made her way to the treadmill again, she was able to feel the girl’s eyes on her. Attempting to say it in a playful tone, but failing completely, Laura said “Maybe you should take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Yeah, that came out much colder than expected. The other girl just quickly turned away and Laura felt bad, continuing to the treadmill. Well, that was the last time she would ever make an attempt to talk to a cute girl. Except, shortly after Laura arrived at her treadmill, the other girl moved on to use the treadmill just four machines away from her. Perhaps she didn’t screw up after all.

Laura assumed it was the first time this raven-haired girl had been to the gym, let alone it being her first time using a treadmill because boy, was she struggling. Laura was going to go ask if she needed help turning on the darn thing and help setting it to her preferred speed, but after the short interaction earlier, Laura came to terms with just never speaking to anyone ever again in her life. And just because the other girl was using the treadmill like she was, doesn’t mean it gave Laura an open invitation for a conversation, right? So, instead Laura settled with trying to discreetly watch the girl from afar and hearing different octaves of the word “Fuck” as the other girl tried to operate the treadmill. And, let’s be honest, it was pretty entertaining. In fact, Laura had to try and hide the laughing noise threatening to escape from her mouth, which she completely failed at.

Upon hearing her laugh, Laura received a death stare from the girl. If looks could kill, Laura would have had about five funerals by now. It was a really intimidating stare. Like. Really. Intimidating. Holy Hufflepuff. Laura decided to start running and mind her own business, but before she could, she heard a low raspy voice say “Got a problem there, Creampuff?” Laura turned to her right to and was met with a glare, so she retorted back with “No, but it sure as hell looks like you do” in the smuggest voice she could possibly manage.

The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes and went back to trying to operate the treadmill, so Laura popped her headphones in, blasting some rock song that started _“It kills me not to know this but I’ve all but just forgotten…”_ (Yeah, she was into that top 40 hits stuff, but a girl needs some edge in her life every now and then), and began her run.

* * *

 

Carmilla was the last of the two to leave the gym. She made her way back to her dorm where her roommate, LaFontaine, was sitting on their bed watching some old horror movie and eating brownies with their girlfriend, Perry. Carmilla carelessly dropped her water bottle to the floor and jumped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. LaFontaine paused the movie and both Perry and Laf turned to look at Carmilla.

“Hey Killer, how’d this morning go?” asked LaFontaine.

“Must you ask such questions?” Carmilla said in an annoyed tone.

“Well sorry for caring, Miss Broody” Carmilla sighed and decided not to let her frustrations out on LaFontaine. She sat up at the edge of her bed facing them, “I woke up at an ungodly hour to go to the gym to get all sweaty and gross. That’s how it went.”

“Annnnnnnnddd?” LaFontaine questioned, giving Carmilla a knowing look.

Carmilla rolled her eyes and blurted out “And who invented treadmills anyway? They’re so trivial and useless.”

“What do you have against treadmills?” Laf asked curiously.

Carmilla winced as if the following words were a pain to speak, “I kinda didn’t know how to work one and some other girl was there and saw me stand there like an 80 year old grandma trying to work an iPhone.”

“Wait. You went to the gym not knowing how to work a treadmill?” LaFontaine giggled and was on the verge of bursting into laughter before Perry smacked LaFontaine on the arm to get them to compose themselves.

“Sweetie, why didn’t you just ask for help?” Perry suggested.

“I didn’t wanna ask. I was a little intimidated, to say the least,” Carmilla looked away.

LaFontaine was a little speechless, “Wait. Intimidated? You?” they gave it some thought before it clicked. “Don’t tell me you embarrassed yourself in front of a cute girl.”

Carmilla stayed quiet and blushed turning a bright red, LaFontaine took that as a yes and busted out laughing, not being able to contain it this time. Carmilla brought her right hand to her forehead and said “Ginger Geek, I swear to God if you don’t stop, I will rip out your spleen” in her most threatening voice. But LaFontaine didn’t hear her, they were too busy practically dying of laughter, wiping the tears from their eyes, and trying to catch their breath to be paying attention. Perry scowled at LaFontaine and moved from their bed to Carmilla’s bed and took a seat next to Carmilla.

“Its okay sweetie,” Perry reassured and held Carmilla’s hand “at least you’ll know how to use the treadmill next time and the time after that. Things like this happen to everyone, don’t dwell on it, it was just a little confusion, that’s all.” Perry pulled Carmilla in for a side hug then grabbed the plate off LaFontaine’s bed, “Brownie?” Perry offered.

Carmilla took a brownie, bit off half of it and let the sweetness take over her body, brushing off the events from that morning. Perry made her way back to LaFontaine’s bed and Carmilla got up to grab another brownie before laying back down on her bed. If there was one thing the Ginger Geek did right, it was getting together with Betty Crocker over there. Because God, did she know how to bake some really good brownies.

* * *

 

It was the Friday before classes and conditioning would officially start and Laura had seen the raven-haired girl at the gym every single day. Except, in those three weeks they have made no social interaction whatsoever. Maybe a glance or a glare here and there, but they never talked. Laura didn’t even know her name. Laura blamed herself for being so socially awkward and coming off a bit too strong the first time, she probably should have been a bit nicer the second time, but the raven-haired girl so had it coming with the whole “death glare” and all.

While she was running, Laura couldn’t help but realize that the raven-haired girl had been keeping up with her pace these past two weeks compared to the first. It was pretty impressive actually, it was kinda like having an informal “running buddy.” “But wait. Isnt this a little weird?” Laura thought “I don’t even knows this girl and she totally just went ahead and copied my routine. Maybe she’s a stalker, or a secret spy agent, or a murderer, or an undercover bear! Maybe I should go get the bear spray my dad packed me. Wait. No. Maybe she’s a vampire and she’s out to eat me, like the one from that one book that sparkles! God, how I hate that book.” Laura paused in her thoughts for a minute and brought her mind back to reality. “Okay, vampires don’t sparkle, and they sure as hell don’t exist. Maybe I’m just imagining things. She’s probably been doing the same thing since the first week. She just needed to condition herself, so that’s why our routines have been more similar these past two weeks. Yeah, that was totally it. Its not like she was trying to compete or show me up, right?”

Either way, Laura decided to give this a little test. As Laura was getting closer to her last mile, she changed the speed on her treadmill so it could be a little faster. Laura looked over and the other girl mimicked her so they were running at the same speed. They made eye contact and Laura increased the speed again. So this time, the raven-haired girl increased the speed so she could be running faster than Laura. “Oh, so she wants to compete? Fine.” Laura thought. On Laura’s last mile she went for a full sprint, and sure enough the raven-haired girl did the same.

Okay, so this was a bit weird. She was having a competition with someone she didn’t even know. Maybe this was the girl’s really weird way of trying to tell Laura she wanted to be friends? Laura decided she should just go ahead and talk to this girl because it was her last day at the gym anyway, plus she could finally find out her name, and if she had the courage, ask if she wanted to work out together again since Laura wasn’t going to be coming here anymore plus, where’s the harm in having a workout partner? This girl could obviously hang in for an intense workout. (This totally wasn’t an excuse to get her number or anything). Being caught up in her own thoughts, Laura misjudged a step and tripped over her own feet, sending herself flying off the treadmill and onto the floor.

The raven-haired girl stopped her treadmill and couldn’t help but let the loud erupting laughter leave her body. Laura stayed sitting on the floor, wide-eyed, embarrassed, and still trying to process the events that led from running to having her butt flat on the floor. Maybe if she didn’t move, the girl wouldn’t notice her. It worked in Jurassic Park, right? Or, maybe the girl would just magically forget the humiliating event that just took place. Oh, how Laura wished she had an invisibility cloak right now. Laura looked up at the raven-haired girl and noticed she was walking toward her. But why would she walk toward her? Passing by Laura, who still hadn’t moved from where she landed, the raven-haired girl said in a playful manner, “Well, look who’s got a problem now, Creampuff” then she did what Laura would wish upon no one. The raven-haired girl took her phone out, snapped a picture and said “Its okay, a pretty girl once told me that a picture would last longer” she then winked and made her way out the door. Of course, she was walking to the door, not to Laura. Laura just happened to conveniently be a stop along the way.

Laura sat there and thought “Well, she was definitely competing and she totally won that race. And I didn’t get her name. Dammit. Wait…. Did she just call me pretty?”

* * *

 

Carmilla walked into her dorm still smiling from the recent events.

She turned to LaFontaine who was looking at some blood samples, which Carmilla wasn’t even going to question, and said “You know what Gingersnap? I actually really really like treadmills.”

LaFontaine gave her a confused look as she watched Carmilla practically skip to the shower. Laf went back to examining the blood samples, because knowing Carmilla, she’ll come blabbing to her once she was done showering. This was gonna be good.

* * *

 

As Laura was walking back to her room she was feeling down because she sorta blew it. Again. And this was probably the last opportunity she had with talking to this girl. She completely ignored the scrape she had on her elbow from rolling on the treadmill and when she got back to the dorm she was greeted by Danny who was watching a movie on her laptop.

“Hey, how was your workout this morn- Woah, what the hell? What happened to your elbow?” Danny exclaimed.

“I uhh, I scraped it falling for you” Laura replied as she tried to wink and Danny giggled. “I’ll tell you once I get out the shower because I’m really sweaty and I’m sure I smell like the basement of an abattior right now”

“Well, this should be interesting” Danny said as went back to watching her movie as she waited for Laura.

Danny noticed Laura walk out, so Danny paused the movie “Okay, so for real, what happened? Oh, and take a seat, imma go grab the first-aid kit” she said as she hopped off her bed and made her way to the bathroom.

“Well, if you really wanna know, I totally ate shit on the treadmill in an act of humiliation” Laura winced as Danny put disinfectant spray on her elbow.

“Smooth, Hollis. Did that girl that you always talk about see you fall to your death?” Danny teased as she dug around the kit for a decent sized bandaid.

“Yep, it was worse than Mufasa’s death scene in The Lion King!... And he died! But it gets better, you know what she had the nerve to do? She took a picture while I was sitting flat on my ass! All of this and I didn’t even get her name and I’m probably not going to see her again in this godforsaken huge campus!”

“Woah, Hollis, chill. I’m sure you’ll see her around sometime. I mean, you saw her at the gym, maybe she’s in some sport or something and you’ll probably see her around when fall semester starts.” Danny reassured her and she finished patching Laura up.

“Yeah, I guess youre right. Thanks Danny, now if you’ll excuse me I have a job to attend” Laura threw on a flannel over her tanktop and headed to the door.

“See ya’ later Hollis, oh and I’ll make sure to restock on cookies and grape soda, so don’t bother getting any on the way back from work”

“Danny did anyone ever tell you you’re the best roommate ever?” Laura grinned, half teasing.

“I think I might have heard it a couple times here and there, but it never hurts to hear it again. My ego is always hungry for compliments” Danny joked.

“Oh, shush” Laura said as she threw the stuffed raccoon that was on top of the wardrobe at Danny, which Danny unsurprisingly caught and Laura quickly closed the door behind her before Danny could throw it back. Laura started walking to her car and she thought to herself “Maybe this semester won’t be too bad. I actually have a good feeling about it.”


	2. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long it took for an update, but ive been really busy lately with school and all that. More specifically, chemistry class (god i hate chem). Anyways, the time between updates may vary as i am writing chapters during my spare time. And i'm actually updating from school right now waiting for chem class. But nonetheless, enjoy!

That Friday night of the first week of school was the Summer Society and the Zeta’s annual party, which they throw every semester after the first week as a “tradition.” But of course, let’s face it, it would just end in a pointless competition between the Zeta’s and the Summer Society of “Who could hold the most liquor” which would end in them getting completely shitfaced with no one ever really “winning.”

This semester the party was going to be at one of the Zeta’s house because last time things got a little messy at the school. Let’s just say the alchemy club and alcohol really don’t mix well, and in result, everyone left that party covered in some icky substance with a bad headache. Well, maybe the alcohol was a partial blame for the headache, but either way, it was one hell of a night.

Laura had just gotten done getting ready when Danny walked out the bathroom.

“You ready to go, Hollis?” Danny asked.

“Ready? Pffft, I was born ready.” Said Laura eagerly as she grabbed her bag, lifted herself off the bed, and walked toward the door.

She opened the door for Danny, acting surprised Danny said “Oh, wow, look at you. What a gentlewoman, such manners”

“Oh, shut it Danny” said Laura jokingly and punched Danny in the arm as they made their way to Laura’s car.

* * *

 

Carmilla looked at herself for the third time in the mirror, this time wearing a completely different outfit.

“Relax, you look fine. What’s the big deal anyway? Got someone to impress tonight?” LaFontaine asked.

Carmilla turned to Laf, “Nothing. No. Can’t a girl just try to look nice for once without being sucked into a game of 20 questions?”

Laf put their hands up in defense, “I’m not saying you can’t look nice, I’m just saying this is a little out of character for you.”

Carmilla settled with a black crop top and ripped black skinny jeans, she went to go grab her bracelets from her bed side and asked curiously “Why aren’t you and Curly Sue going to the party? I mean, unless you’re planning on going in that raccoon onesie you’re wearing.”

LaFontaine shrugged, “After last semesters incident Perry wasn’t exactly ecstatic about going to the party, so we settled for movie night. She should actually be getting here any minute now.”

Carmilla thought back and vaguely recalled, “Oh, you mean when she stood up on a table and started rapping to Get Low, then started breakdancing? Or at least, I think that was supposed to be breakdancing. Hmm, I actually would never have guessed she had that in her.”

Right on cue, Perry entered the room wearing a bear onesie and holding a plate of homemade brownies. “Oh. Hi Carmilla! Sorry to intrude, I thought you would have left by now.” Perry said apologetically.

Carmilla turned around, “Oh look, its Lil-”

Carmilla paused mid-sentence.

Carmilla looked at Perry, then LaFontaine, then back at Perry, then back again at LaFontaine. She stayed silent for a while before saying “You know, I usually have a snarky comment for these types of things, but I honestly have nothing right now.”

“Jealous?” LaFontaine asked, giving a dorky smile and grabbing the tail of their raccoon onesie.

“Please, as if” said Carmilla as she grabbed her red flannel off the bed and put it on, heading toward the door which Perry was still standing by, she then grabbed a brownie off the plate Perry was holding and opened the door.

Perry walked over to LaFontaine’s bed and placed the plate of brownies down on the nightstand before laying by their side on their bed. “Have fun sweetie!” she said to Carmilla.

“Will do.” She turned to Perry and nodded, “Mama Bear” then to LaFontaine, “Commander Lexa. Don’t stay up too late waiting for me” she said sarcastically as she shut the door behind her.

Taking a bite out of the brownie, Carmilla started walking towards the parking lot and took her phone out to call her brother Will. If there was one perk about giving your little brother a ride to a party, it was having him be the designated driver for the trip back.

* * *

 

Laura finally found a parking spot in the fully packed fancy-looking neighborhood, thankfully her dad had given her his old Volkswagen Beetle, and so it was a lot easier to find parking. It looked like a dealership with these many cars around, the last time Laura had seen these many cars was when her and her dad went to the carnival.

Laura and Danny got out and Laura locked her car and turned to Danny. “So, which house is it at?” she asked.

Danny shrugged, “Beats me, I was jam packed with homework and TA paperwork I didn’t have the time to go help set up. I was just told it was in the same neighborhood as one of the Sisters, and so far that seems pretty correct.”

Laura sighed, “Danny, you are unbelievable”

“Well, the address number is 1698, so it’s not far from here. I’m sure we could just follow the music, I mean which other house is going to be throwing a huge college-kid filled party?” Danny paused and thought, “Or I can just throw you on my shoulders and you can be our GPS.” Danny suggested, trying not to laugh at the image of having Laura on her shoulders. “I mean, you can be tall for once!”

Laura looked a Danny, slightly offended “No thanks, I like keeping my feet on the ground.” Laura furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her tiny fists, “And I’ll have you know, I’m average height! At least, I’m close to average.”

Danny raised her eyebrow at Laura and chuckled because Laura’s face was flushed with a soft pink. Danny enjoyed getting Laura all worked up, it was one of the best forms of entertainment that required little work.

"Awh, youre like a little ball of rage" teased Danny.

“Oh, whatever Danny! Anyway, can’t you just call or text Kirsch and ask him where the house is?”Laura asked, changing the subject.

“Pft, yeah, over my dead body. Plus he’s probably too busy being a party animal and drooling over girls, or as he refers to them, ‘ _hotties_ ,’ ugh” Danny mocked in a lower, bitter tone, with an underlying hint of jealousy.

“Woah, Danny Lawrence, is that jealousy I hear?” Laura asked, amused by this.

“W-what? No, Laura. Gross. Don’t be crazy” Danny sputtered out a bit faster than expected, slightly blushing, she then changed the subject before Laura could interrogate her, “C’mon, let’s head to the party, I think I can see which house it is from here” and she led the way.

Danny and Laura walked until they reached a white two story house that was surrounded with a black fence, half covered in ivy. They walked through the open gate and down the cement path surrounded with delicately cut green grass and stopped midway.

A banner that was hung above the front door caught their attention, spray painted in big red letters it said “Zeta’s Rule, Summer Society Drools.”

Danny and Laura looked at each other, “Of course” they said in unison and rolled their eyes.

They continued walking to the front door, but before they could ring the doorbell Kirsch opened the door. “Hey, Kir-” was all Laura could get out before Kirsch enveloped Laura into a big bear hug and lifted her off the ground.

“Hey Little Tiny Nerd! Glad you could make it!” Kirsch put Laura down and turned to Danny, “And uhh, Psycho Society” said Kirsch as he moved aside and made way for them to enter.

“Popped Collar” Danny answered, making her way inside the house.

“The party’s in the back, the beverages are in the green cooler and the _beverages beverages_ ,” Kirsch winked, “are in the red coolers.”

“Jesus Kirsch, we’re not 15, you can say the word ‘alcohol’” Danny said.

Kirsch half opened his mouth to say something back, but Laura cut him off before he could get a word out, “So, how’d you know we were at the door?”

She was not going to put up with Danny and Kirsch arguing tonight. She swears, they might as well me a married couple with all the bickering. Or they could pass as her children (if they weren’t twice her size), seeing as she always ended up with the biggest headache ever from hearing them fight all the time.

“Oh, I didn’t. Will texted me that he and J.P. needed help bringing down some drinks. Lucky timing I guess.” Kirsch shrugged nonchalantly and smiled, which made him look like a kid on Christmas morning. “Anyways, I gotta go help the bros. I’ll see you later Little Laura, and Psycho Society” and walked out the front door.

“Thanks Kirsch!” Laura chirped, and she and Danny made their way to the back.

* * *

 

**10pm**

When Danny and Laura took in their surroundings, they were left stunned with their jaw dropped. There was a pool that looked like it belonged in the Olympics (okay, maybe not that big, but it was pretty damn big), there were tall torches lit surrounding the perimeter of the fence, there were also a couple of small canopies set up with some chairs surrounding a small fire. And what in the name of Skrillex? They even had a live DJ playing. They really went all out this year, which made sense because there seemed to be twice as much people there than at the other parties they have attended. Luckily people were too busy dancing, swimming, and doing god knows what to be wanting to sit down, so Danny and Laura settled with taking a spot under one of the canopies in the far back.

“Hey, wait here, I’ll go grab us a drink” said Danny as she got up.

Laura grabbed Danny’s arm before she could walk off, “Actually Danny, water’s just fine. I’m still a little traumatized from last semester’s party”

“Oh, yeah sure thing” Danny said as she walked off to one of the coolers.

Laura sat there and fidgeted with her fingers while she waited for Danny, letting her eyes wander off and observe her surroundings. She noticed Kirsch had come back with Will and JP and they were going around and filling the coolers back up with drinks. She wondered for a second if she could play matchmaker for Danny and Kirsch, but let that thought slip away as she got distracted by what was going on in the pool. Meddling is so overrated anyway.

There was a chicken fight going on and it was SJ on the bottom carrying a semi-drunk Natalie, which she recognized both from a class she was in last semester, on one side. They were going against a girl named Elsie, which she recognized because she was in the Summer Society with Danny, with the raven-haired girl on her shoulders.

Laura felt like her heart stopped for a moment as she was mesmerized by the sound of the raven-haired girl’s laughter filling the air of the night. Her smile was just as she remembered it the last day they interacted, it was flawless and shone brighter than the stars that filled the sky that night. Even though she was in the pool, her hair seemed to flow down in perfect curls against her fair skin, which was clearly exposed in the two piece she was wearing. She seemed different that night, she seemed so care-free and reminded Laura of an innocent child with a pure heart.

Laura made eye contact with the raven-haired girl for a split second, and that was when she realized her gaze had lingered on for more than intended.

Danny was making her way back with drinks and set them down, “You know, in some places they find it rude to stare”

Wide-eyed, Laura turned around to meet Danny’s gaze, “What? Staring? Who’s staring? I’m not staring?” Laura said faster than intended.

Danny took her seat next to Laura and opened her drink, “Really? Cause right now it sure looked like you sure wanted to eat her.” She said pointing to Carmilla with her bottle.

“Eat her? Really? Okay, I’m like 100% I’m pretty sure that’s illegal to do. Plus-” Danny cut her off, “Laura, no. Like, EAT HER. Eat her.” she repeated with emphasis.

Laura’s face contorted into one of confusion, then finally understanding what Danny meant, changed into a thoughtful one, then back to neutral for a second. Then she opened her mouth and raised her finger to say something, but then changed her mind, grabbed her water and sat back at loss for words. She then glanced at Danny and said the best thing her mind could conjure up, “Whatever” and sipped on her water as Danny smiled, full of glee.

* * *

 

Elsie bent her knees while Carmilla was trying to balance herself on her shoulders, “I swear to God Elsie, if you drop me, there will be hell to pay.”

Elsie stood up and Carmilla quickly gripped Elsie’s shoulders with fast cat-like reflexes. Elsie snickered, “Wow Karnstein, could you hold me any tighter?”

“I hope you know from this position I can potentially snap your neck” Carmilla threatened.

“Yeah, that’s not every likely” Elsie replied.

Carmilla flicked Elsie in the back of the head and Elsie laughed, “My point exactly.”

Carmilla took a swig of her drink before placing it on the side of the pool. God, it felt great to finally let loose after the stressful summer she had with her track competition and a heavy first week of school.

Carmilla and Elsie turned to Natalie who was on SJ’s shoulder. “You guys ready to get your ass kicked?” Carmilla asked.

“If by ‘get your ass kicked’ you mean ‘completely dominate you’ then yes, we are ready” SJ cockily replied.

“WOO! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLLLEEE!” shouted an already semi-drunk Natalie, shaking her fist in the air.

And like that Carmilla and Natalie locked hands. Swaying to the left, Natalie grabbed Carmilla’s left forearm and Carmilla used her right hand to try and push Natalie by her shoulder. SJ moved Natalie back, letting go of Carmilla’s forearm, Carmilla lost her balance for a moment, but she quickly regained it. They went at it again, this time Carmilla grabbed Natalie by the shoulders and Natalie swayed back, but SJ moved just in time before Natalie could completely fall. SJ quickly moved forward so Natalie can push Carmilla but Elsie moved back, giving herself and Carmilla some distance between SJ and Natalie.

Carmilla tapped Elsie on her shoulder signaling towards the side of the pool so Carmilla can grab her drink. Elsie moved towards the edge and Carmilla grabbed her bottle and took another sip of her drink, she then offered Elsie some by putting the bottle in front of her lips.

Elsie finished the rest and put the empty bottle down, noticing the little line of bottles forming on the side, “Damn Karnstein, that’s your fourth one? Been a long week?”

“Very long, and in my defense, you helped with those four bottles” Carmilla drawled.

“I took a total of like three sips, I wouldn’t exactly consider that ‘helping’” replied Elsie.

“Shhhhhh” said Carmilla as she slowly placed her hand on Elsie’s face and moved it around as Elsie laughed and struggled to get her face away from Carmilla’s hand without dropping her.

Carmilla stopped and let out a full loud laughter, when she looked up she noticed someone was looking at her and she knew she recognized the face but couldn’t quite remember from where. Then it clicked. Oh crap. That was the girl from the gym. Well, she for sure looked a little different in clothing that wasn’t old and sweat-filled. Nonetheless, she was still just as attractive. Maybe slightly more attractive than Carmilla remembered, that was still up for debate. The girl was wearing black pants a short sleeved button up with a pattern of tiny white ribbons that was see through. It was either black or a very dark blue, Carmilla couldn’t make out what color it was from the distance, but she very much approved. The small fire the girl was sitting around seemed to make her face glow and emphasize every feature to make her look that much more stunning under the moonlight.

Their lingering second of eye contact broke when the girl focused her attention to someone who was approaching with drinks. The approaching person was probably about twice the size of the small girl and had red hair, she reminded Carmilla of Clifford and Carmilla giggled to herself. What an odd couple.

“Carmilla, lookout!” shouted JP as he was putting drinks inside a cooler nearby.

Carmilla and Elsie turned around, but before they even finished turning around or even registered what was going on, Carmilla hit the water with a big splash.

“AND THE WINNERS OF THIS ROUND ARE SJ AND NATALIE! WOO!” shouted Natalie waving both her hands in the air and doing a victory dance on SJ’s shoulders before getting off.

Carmilla resurfaced the pool, took one look at Natalie and muttered “Goddammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, i very much appreciate it! (:


	3. The Party: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooow, that season finale, amirite?!

**1am**

As the night progressed Danny and Laura had made their way over to the dance floor to accompany Kirsch and some of his Zeta buddies. They weren’t that bad once you got to know them, they actually seemed like really nice people. Surprisingly, they were really respectful, who would’ve thought?

It was evident a few people had left the party, just enough for it to be less crowded than earlier. The people remaining were mostly out on the dance floor, some playing beer pong on one of two tables that a Zeta had set up, and others being influenced by the alcohol in their system to find a comfortable spot on the floor to sleep through the night.

Danny was dancing with Mel, whom she ran into earlier that night, and Kirsch. Laura was next to them dancing with Theo and another Zeta bro who went by the name of Zhu.

Although Laura was having a good time, she couldn’t help but keep an eye out for the raven-haired girl. She hadn’t seen her since the awkward moment they had earlier and wondered if she had left already. Laura questioned why this girl was heavy on her mind. She didn’t even know her and yet here she was, aimlessly searching for her. But for what? That was the question that burned in the back of Laura’s mind. Why was she so caught up in this person? What was so special about this person that she was beginning to occupy Laura’s thoughts as the days went on? What would Laura even say if she found herself face-to-face with this girl? It’s not like they were even friends or anything, they barely even exchanged a few words. Maybe it was just the fact that Laura knew this stranger had an embarrassing picture of her on her phone, because who knows what she could do with that, right? _Right?_ That’s what Laura decided to settle with as she pushed these thoughts away and just let herself enjoy the rest of the night.

* * *

  **1:30am**

“Carmilla Karnssstein, get your ass down here!” shouted Elsie from the first floor of the house

“God, can’t a girl pee in peace in this day in age - age in day- day and age. Uhh, y-you know what im trying to say” replied Carmilla, clumsily making her way down the stairs gripping on the handrail.

Once Carmilla successfully made it downstairs she joined Elsie, SJ, and Natalie. SJ made her way to Carmilla’s side and grabbed her arm, trying not to lose her balance while tugging her towards the door, “C’mooooon, they already started doing keg stands. A-and as reigning champ, you need to show these people uuuup. You jusss gottaaaaaa.” She said enthusiastically.

Before it even registered in Carmilla’s head that she had agreed to this idea, she was standing outside watching some blonde in the position she would soon be in. Judging from the chants of the unknown people, apparently her name was Betty. The crowd got to 57 seconds before Betty fumbled to the ground. Not bad, she’ll just have to show this Betty how it’s truly done.

Carmilla carefully made her way to the keg, making sure not to trip and embarrass herself. SJ, Natalie and Elsie were following closely behind her.

Once they got to the keg Carmilla turned to SJ and Natalie, “Mkaaay, you guyss are gonna hol’ me up” she then inaccurately pointed to Elsie, “And yooouuure gonna be in charge of the tap.”

Carmilla gripped her hands on the side of the keg while SJ and Natalie gripped her legs to miraculously hold her up. Elsie was holding the tap towards Carmilla’s mouth and she began chugging. After what seemed like a lifetime to Carmilla, but also seemed like everything went by too quickly, Carmilla felt the tap being removed from her mouth and suddenly she wasn’t anywhere near the ground anymore. She was being held up by a group of people cheering her on. The awkward motion and being far from the ground was taking a toll on Carmilla’s stomach. Well, crap. Thankfully, they put her down shortly after and she struggled to compose herself.

“H-how’d I dooo?” asked Carmilla to the other girls, now four as she saw Betty had joined them.

“Holyyshit, that was fuckinggggggreat!” slurred Elsie.

“That was prolly the bestest I’ve seen, you got a good 20 seconds over my time. You’re-you’re good. Hoooow?” added Betty

Carmilla did what was an attempt to shrug, “I live to please”

Suddenly Natalie blurted out, “Guyyyyyyssssssssss I want ice cream. D-do you guys want some? Cuz I really reaaaalllly want some. And they don’t have any here, I checkedddd.” she whined.

“God. Natalie. I swear. Youre like five.” said Carmilla in chopped up sentences, thinking too hard about what she wanted to say. She may be drunk, but she still had to live up to her snarky reputation.

And with that, Carmilla, Elsie, SJ, Natalie, and Betty stumbled into the night. They attempted to walk regularly down the street on a very serious important drunken mission to get some ice cream.

* * *

 

**2am**

Mel and Zhu had decided to go home, leaving Kirsch and Danny dancing alongside Laura and Theo. Laura figured she shouldn’t interrupt Kirsch and Danny and enjoy moments like these where they actually got along. No arguing between these two meant no headache for her, one that even a hangover couldn’t compete with. Plus, she had to admit, they looked kinda cute together.

“You’ve got something on your mind?” asked Theo, interrupting Laura’s thoughts.

“What?” Laura asked, not because she couldn’t hear but because she was snapping back into reality.

“You’ve seemed kinda distracted this whole night, and your eyes keep darting around every now and then. If you wanna dance with someone else it’s okay, no hard feelings” said Theo jokingly, putting his hands up in defense and giving a cheesy grin.

“Oh! Oh no, I’m sorry, it’s just. I just-” Laura paused, deflated, and let out a small sigh, “okay yeah, I’m a little distracted, but I’m having a great time! You’re actually one of the best dancers I’ve met and-”

“Hey, hey, don’t sweat it” Theo reassured, placing an arm on Laura’s shoulder to stop her from nervously ranting an apology. “Look, I know you think I can bust a mean Sprinkler out on the dance floor, but you don’t have to apologize. It’s okay, I completely understand, whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

Laura looked at Theo, smiled shyly and nodded, “Okay, but just to be fair, we both know I’m the better dancer”

Theo removed his hand from Laura’s shoulder and chuckled lightly, “We’ll see about that in a bit. Imma go grab us some water, then maybe you can learn a thing or two from some of my infamous dance moves, yeah? Cause there’s no way you’re better than me”

“Oh, you’re on” said Laura and Theo made his way to grab some water.

* * *

 

**2:07am**

Laura had been waiting for Theo for about two songs now. She wondered what was taking him so long and was a bit worried since she couldn’t find Danny or Kirsch, she could’ve sworn they were right beside them when Theo was here.

Laura felt someone bump into her from behind and she quickly moved and apologized. She stood for about five more seconds before feeling someone really close to her again and moved once more.

She got on her toes to try and look for Theo, but then felt two hands wrap around her waist and felt the body heat of someone much taller standing too close for comfort.

She knew this wasn’t Danny or Kirsch because one, these were not Danny’s hands, these were thick, rough hands. And two, this person reeked of alcohol, which neither Danny nor Kirsch had drank this much. And Laura doubted they had gotten this trashed in the past couple minutes.

Laura struggled to release their grip which she couldn’t because the other person was a lot stronger than her. Meaning she couldn’t take this person down and put them in a wristlock or a chokehold like she wanted to.

Laura felt the heavy breath of the person next to her ear and the stench of alcohol when they spoke.

“Shh, don’t struggle” said a deep unfamiliar voice.

Laura’s heart started racing, her blood ran cold. She felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. The color of her face gone pale. She was terrified. She was about to scream for help when all of the sudden the person released their tight grip.

* * *

 

Theo made his way to the closest cooler to grab some waters. There wasn’t any left, only alcohol. Which didn’t make sense because the majority of the people here were completely wasted and he was about 99% sure water wasn’t the cause of that. He went around looking in each cooler and managed to only find one, so he decided to check inside the house just in case if there were any extras.

Making his way inside the house he saw Danny and Kirsch on one of the couches. Danny was asleep laying her head on Kirsch’s lap while he was running his fingers through her hair. They were probably tired from dancing all night, so he made a mental note to tease Kirsch about that later.

He went to the kitchen and moved a completely trashed student from the floor in front of the fridge (thank God for gym memberships). He opened the refrigerator door and found some cold water bottles in the very back. He grabbed a bottle and practically rushed back out the house, feeling bad for letting Laura wait this long.

When he arrived he saw Laura with someone who he didn’t recognize. He noticed Laura trying to free herself, and by the look of Laura’s panicked face he knew he had to step in quickly. Shit. His blood boiled and he felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for this. Now he really felt bad, if he would've gotten there sooner this wouldn't be happening.

He set the water bottles down at a nearby table and made his way into the crowd of people that were dancing until he reached the unfamiliar face. He tapped this person on the shoulder and they turned around, releasing their grip on Laura. At that moment Theo didn’t hold back and punched this person square in the face. They fell to the floor, highly uncoordinated due to the mixture of the alcohol they consumed and the impact of the punch.

“Dude what the fuck?!” Yelled the guy covering his now bleeding nose, scrambling to get up from the floor.

Theo grabbed him by the collar of his now blood-stained shirt and pulled him up looking him dead in the eye with a clenched jaw. “Look. I don’t care who you are. Or where you are. You don’t touch a girl like that. Without her consent. _Not. Ever_. You hear me?!”

The guy, now scared shitless, just nodded. Only fear found in his wide eyes.

“Good. Don’t do that again because I have plenty more where that came from. Now get out of here.” Said Theo, letting go of his grip, making the stranger fall back to the ground.

The crowd of people were watching and cheered Theo on, making sure the stranger left the party as he struggled to get on his feet. Once it was confirmed “stranger danger” had left, Theo turned to Laura, who was still breathing a bit heavy and trying to calm down.

“Hey, are you okay? He didn’t do anything to you did he?” asked Theo examining Laura to see if there was any damage done.

“No, he didn’t. He just- I was just scared. But he didn’t do anything. I’m okay.” said Laura a bit shaky.

“Im so so so sorry for leaving you for that long. If I wouldn’t have left, he wouldn’t have-”

Laura cut him off, “No, no, don’t blame yourself. Neither of us knew this was gonna happen. The good thing is you got here just in time and we’re both safe.”

Theo looked down at the floor and nodded, “Well, I managed to find some water, I think we should go sit down for a bit” he said gesturing towards the table where he had set the waters.

“That sounds exactly like what I need right now. Plus I think I’m officially done dancing for the night.”

Theo offered his arm to Laura, “Shall we?” Laura linked her arm through Theo’s, “We shall” and they made their way to take a seat.

* * *

 

**2:30am**

Theo and Laura were enjoying the rest of the night, talking about school and different extracurricular activities which led to discussing television shows. They found a common interest in Doctor Who, which evolved into talking about Marvel and the diversity of the characters, and somehow they eventually ended up in a heated debate over which starter Pokemon was the best to pick in Fire Red.

“Squirtle was totally the best one to pick!” exclaimed Laura.

“Uh, noo? Charmander all the way!” Theo insisted.

“Puhh-leaseeee. My Squirtle can totally kick your Charmanders ass any day!”

“That’s not fair though! Water is a fire type’s weakness!” said Theo as he sat back in his chair and pouted.

“And that proves my point as to why Squirtle is the best starter Pokemon” said Laura giving a sheepish grin.

Just as the debate ended, Will and JP walked up to their table. Will was wearing dark blue pants and a baggy black v-neck, while JP was wearing black pants and a white button up.

“Hey Laura, hey Theo.” greeted Will with JP trailing behind him.

“Hi guys” peeped JP from behind once he caught up.

Theo and Laura turned to Will and JP, “Oh, hey” they greeted in unison.

“So Laura, Silas’ soccer superstar, how’s soccer conditioning be treating you? ‘Cause I know JP and I have been practically dying out there” said Will.

“Yeah, I feel like my hearts just about ready to beat out of my chest or I’m going to have a heat stroke. Whichever one comes first” added JP.

Laura let out a soft giggle, “Well, I’ve actually been going to the gym this summer to prepare for conditioning, so it’s not that bad. At least, I think I’m safe from _**death by soccer conditioning**_ ” she mocked in a deep announcer voice.

Will leaned and put his right elbow on JP’s shoulder and gave Laura a deadpan look. He turned to JP, “She went to the gym to prepare for soccer conditioning” he then turned to Laura, “Of course you went to the gym for soccer conditioning” he rolled his eyes.

“Jesus, Laura. You’re making us all look bad” whined JP.

Will turned to JP, “Hey, maybe next year we can hit the gym too, after all it won’t hurt. Then maybe we can be just as good as Short Stuff is out on the field” teased Will.

“Hey, I may be the shortest member on the team, but I can totally show either of you guys up on the field. As the matter of fact, I can take both of you on the field.” replied Laura with a cocky grin.

Will moved his hand over his heart giving the saddest puppy-dog face he could muster up, “That hurts Laura, and here I was thinking we were a team” he faked wiping a tear away.

Laura laughed, “We are. It’s just that. The girls’ soccer team are _clearly_ better than the guy’s soccer team. ‘Cause, I mean, they have me and that’s pretty much all you need to win.” She said jokingly.

Will glared at Laura, “Im holdin’ you to that one, Short Stuff. Guess we’ll have to find out for sure on the field.”

“Yeah, maybe if you’re lucky we’ll let you win” said JP, “Hey Will, maybe your sister would be willing to help us out. She’s family, so that automatically puts her on our team. That girl could seriously run for miles, I’m sure she can manage with a soccer ball.”

Will burst into laughter at the ridiculous idea, “Carmilla? And soccer? You can’t be serious, I think she’d rather gouge her eyes out with a spoon before stepping foot onto a soccer field, or even sit down to watch a game.”

“I knew she wouldn’t be too fond of that idea, but after tonight you gotta admit she’s gonna owe you one” said JP.

“Hmm, you make a very good point. Speaking of which, Laura, have you seen her?” Will took out his phone and checked the time, “We’ve been looking for her for about forty five minutes. I was supposed to drive her back to Silas, but we can’t seem to find her and she’s not answering her phone or replying to any of my texts”

Confused, Laura said “You have a sister? I wasn’t even aware.”

“Yeah, she likes to pretend we’re not related sometimes. Well, a lot of the time. I mean, we have different dads, but that never seemed to matter growing up. You just can’t escape the family love.” Said Will as he shrugged.

“Aww, that’s actually kinda cute. Little Will following his big sister around.”

“Yep, that’s how it always was when we were little. It’s slightly different now, since we’re not running around wearing diapers, but we still care for each other even if she doesn’t like to show it a lot. She’s actually a really big softie deep down inside. Buuut if you ever get to know her, don’t tell her I said that.”

“Your secrets safe with me” said Laura, pretending to zip her mouth and throw away the key.

“I think we’re actually gonna keep searching for a while longer then head out. JP and I are really tired and she probably ended up spending the night at someone’s house if anything.” Will turned to look at JP, “Come on dude, let’s go check if she’s inside the house.” He then turned to Laura “See you later Laura,” he said as he reached out his arm to ruffle her hair, leaving it a mess “Later Theo” he waved.

“Bye guys!” said Laura and Theo

“Catch you guys later!” said JP waving, trailing behind Will once again.

* * *

 

**3am**

By this time of the night there was more people passed out than there were still conscious and partying. Laura turned to Theo, “Hey, I’ve actually had a great night, thanks for everything. I think it’s about time me and Danny head back to Silas though. Which, what happened to Danny anyway? And Kirsch?” she said a little confused, not believing that she had almost completely forgotten about Danny.

“Oh yeah, no problem.” Replied Theo, checking his phone, “I actually think it’s a little past my bedtime” he said with a smile, “Uhm, I think I remember seeing Danny and Kirsch inside the house when I had gone to get water. They seemed like they were, uhmmm. How do I put this,” Theo paused “They seemed to be having a great time, to say the least”

“Huh?” replied an even more confused Laura.

“C’mon, let’s go check if they’re still inside” said Theo getting up, leading the way into the house.

When Theo and Laura entered the house they quickly spotted an intriguing sight. There was a tired Danny resting her head on Kirsch’s lap, her arm wrapped around his legs. Then there was an extremely worn-out Kirsch with his right arm draping across Danny’s torso and his left arm being used as a cushion for his own head. Kirsch had a dab of drool on the corner of his mouth and Danny was softly snoring.

“Oh, this is too good” said Laura ecstatically and she pulled out her phone and moved in front of them to snap a picture.

“Should we wake them up?” asked Theo.

“Yeah, we probably should. There’s already enough passed out people here, I don’t think the person who lives here would want more trouble than they already have”

“I actually wouldn’t mind, there’s a couple spare rooms upstairs” said Theo gesturing to the second floor.

“Oh.” Laura did a double take, “Wait. You live here?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” said Theo a bit sarcastically.

“Uh, yeah, I think you may have forgotten to mention that little piece of information” said Laura, matter-of-factly.

“Oh, well, hey Laura”

“Yes?”

“I live here” said Theo, grinning.

Laura rolled her eyes, “Well I’ll take Danny home, the last thing I need is her freaking out over staying at a Zeta’s house. With Kirsch”

“Yeah, now that I think about it that’s probably a good idea. Kirsch can stay here, I’ll go set up one of the rooms for him” Theo said as he turned to walk upstairs.

Laura moved towards Danny, “Hey. Danny” she said as she moved her arm down and placed it on Danny’s shoulder, “Hey, Danny wake up”

Danny shifted, “Mmmm, five more minutes mom” she said groggily.

Laura giggled, seeing Danny waking up made her seem so small and vulnerable, it was funny yet she had to admit a little adorable, “Danny, its Laura, wake up. We have to go back home. Well, the dorms, but you know what i mean.”

Danny slowly opened her eyes, looking around she remembered where she was. She removed Kirsch’s arm from around her waist and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, trying to chase the drowsiness away. She put her face in her hands for a while then looked up.

“What time is it?” she dragged out in a raspy voice.

“It’s a little after three, and it’s also time for us to leave. Unless you wanna stay here with your knight in shining armor, Bromeo over here” said Laura gesturing to Kirsch.

“Oh God.” Said Danny, placing her face back in her hands, her face flushed red, “Yeah, let’s go” she said getting up from the couch.

Theo walked downstairs holding a blanket and a piece of paper, he walked to the couch and placed it over Kirsch, “I feel bad waking him up so I’m just gonna give him a blanket and put a note here on the table and he can make his way upstairs if he wants, or if he wakes up anytime soon” he said placing a note on the table.

Theo turned to Danny and Laura, extending his hand, “Well it was nice meeting both of you, have a nice night”

Danny slowly reached out to shake his hand still trying to make the gears in her head work at a normal pace. Theo turned to shake Laura’s hand, but instead Laura went for a hug, which caught Theo by surprise, but he quickly adjusted.

Laura pulled away and grabbed Danny’s arm and headed towards the door, “Have a nice night, we’ll see you around!” she waved back to Theo as she and Danny walked out the door.


	4. The Afterparty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im horrible at updating and i apologize, but alas, the next chapter

**3:30am**

Danny and Laura made their way out the house and down the path which they had walked a couple hours ago when they had arrived at the party. Danny and Laura observed the various trashed students passed out on Theo’s lawn along with the red plastic solo cups scattered around. It was no surprise some of them had their face drawn on with sharpie. Some of these masterpieces had profanity and others had inappropriate drawings, talk about stereotypical college students. _That’s totally gonna be a pain in the ass to clean up later_ , Laura thought.

Danny was following Laura through the now almost vacant neighborhood with a hand on her shoulder, to make sure she didn’t lose her balance and fall. Her other hand was covering her mouth for the consecutive yawns her body was releasing. They finally reached Laura’s car and Laura opened the door for Danny to crawl inside. As Laura was walking around to the driver’s seat she heard something so she paused and looked around, observing the still of the night. Not finding the source of the noise, she moved on to open her door and get inside her car.

* * *

 

After finally finding a store open at this time of night that had Natalie’s favorite ice cream flavor, then buying another two cases of beer; Carmilla, Elsie, SJ, Betty and Natalie spent their time aimlessly walking around entertaining themselves with cheap jokes. Once it started getting late they decided to go back to the party where they planned to crash for the night, even if it was on someone’s lawn.

It was Carmilla’s turn to pick her poison in this now intense game of Truth or Dare the girls were playing.

“Heeey, so Karnsteinn. Truth er dare?” asked Elsie.

In fear of accidentally letting her tongue slip and revealing personal information she would regret the next day, Carmilla responded with, “Dare. But gimme a realllyyy good one.Im feeling a lil’…saucy” and the whole group erupted with laughter.

It took Elsie until they got to the end of the street to come up with a good dare, one she knew Carmilla would back out of. If Carmilla ended up backing out, Elsie would finally have something to hold against her.

“Uhhmm. I dare youuu to pee on the next car. Y-yeah, the next car we see parked.” said Elsie, expecting for Carmilla to finally refuse to do this dare.

Carmilla took a drink from the beer bottle she was holding and thought about it. She looked around and said, “Uhh, are yooou blind? We might as well be in a ghost town, theres no cars parked on the streets”

Just as they reached another corner, Elsie stopped and extended her hands outwards to stop the group and pushed them back to where they were.

“What the-”

“Ssssssshhhhhhh” said Elsie, putting a finger to her mouth, “Theres a c-car about midway down this street. There’s your chance, I mean. Unless you wanna back out” she said in a low hushed tone.

Carmilla crouched down and moved forward to peek around the corner like she was some sort of spy and tried to take a look at the car. It was Volkswagen Beetle, well that made the decision more obvious, clearly this person deserved to have their car peed on. At least this was one of the older models, she’ll give them that. It appeared no one was around, so this should be fairly easy. She hadn’t backed down from anything so far, so she sure as hell wasn’t gonna back down from this. Not wanting to give Elsie the satisfaction, she went back to the group and chugged the rest of her liquid courage and set the bottle down. That was definitely not a good idea because now she was feeling a bit woozy. But really, since when had this night been filled with great ideas.

“Watchh and learn” Carmilla said pointing a finger at the group and twirling it around as she stumbled towards the car, which resembled a deer learning to walk.

Carmilla arrived at the car and tried to get on the best she could, then stood on the roof of it. Or at least tied to.

She unbuttoned her pants and pulled her panties down, moving into a drunken squatting position. She let the buildup of all the alcohol she had throughout the night flow right out into a small river of relief. Once Carmilla was done, she pulled her underwear and her pants up and she backed up and took a seat, crisscrossed on the top. She heard the door to the car open and that’s when she came to realize she was in trouble.

“ _Shit.shit.shit.shit_ ” she muttered under her breath as she hurriedly tried to zip and button her pants, when all of the sudden she felt a pang of pain on her left shoulder.

“ _Whatthefuck?!_ ” Carmilla exclaimed as she quickly turned around and misjudged the space she had left on the car and completely lost her balance.

* * *

 

“You got your seat belt on?” asked Laura putting her bag on the backseat then realized Danny was struggling with buckling her seat belt.

Laura reached over and clipped the belt for her, then Danny leaned back in her seat, “Mhmmm, got it” she said as she rested her head on the door.

“Alright, here we go” said Laura. Just as she was putting her key in the ignition she heard something again.

“Danny, did you hear that?” Laura asked frantically.

“Mmmm?” Danny mumbled.

There was a louder thud and the whole car seemed to sink down.

 _“DANNY!”_ Laura yelled as she quickly grabbed the closest thing to her to use as a weapon, which just so happen to be a spatula.

Danny jolted awake “Wha-What? What’s going on?”

“Well, Sleeping Beauty, while you’re there _resting_ I’m here trying not to get us possibly _murdered_ ” Laura exclaimed sarcastically

“Shhhh” said Danny.

“Oh, I _know_ you did not just shush me, Danny Lawrence” said Laura in a stern voice.

“No, Laura. Shhh, do you hear that?” asked Danny as she pointed up.

Laura turned her gaze upward, “Hear wha-” she then heard a _drip drip drip_ against the window, turning to look out the front of her windshield. That was when she saw the small stream of liquid trickling down the glass.

“What the, what?” she thought out loud, highly confused.

Laura stepped out her car, gripping the spatula ready to smack anything that came close to threatening her. She turned to look at the figure on top of her car “Get off my car!” she yelled as she brought her hand back and used all her force to hit whoever or whatever it was.

“Whatthefuck?!” was this person’s response to Laura’s action, which coincidentally was exactly what Laura was wondering too.

All of the sudden this person moved towards Laura, but before Laura could get another hit in, the person fell off the car and onto the sidewalk.

“OW, Holy Shit” yelled the person cringing on the floor from the force of the fall.

As soon as Laura was able to focus on who was on the floor, her jaw dropped wide eyed at this sight. It was the raven-haired girl, with her pants still unbuttoned. Which. Wait. Did she just pee on her car?

“Oh, I _know_ you did _not_ just piss on my car” yelled Laura, making Carmilla flinch a little.

Carmilla finally managed to sit up, clutching the arm Laura had hit, trying to scoot away from the Tiny Angry Person yelling in front of her. From behind Laura, Carmilla was able to see the group of girls she was with weren’t there anymore.

Carmilla hissed under her breath, _“motherfuck-“_

 _“Excuse me? What did you just call me?!”_ Shouted Laura as she raised the spatula and started turning red from the frustration and anger.

Just as Carmilla flinched and put her arms up in defense, Danny had managed to unbuckle herself and step out of the car.

“Uhh, what’s going on? And who’s that?” asked a very confused Danny looking at the scene in front of her, holding herself steady with the help of Laura’s car.

“She _defiled_ my car with her pee, look!” yelled Laura, pointing to her windshield.

Danny examined Laura’s car carefully, “Okay, Laura, as gross as that is. She looks _completely_ wasted. I’m sure she didn’t mean to do that”

“Yeah, cause you just _accidentally_ end up peeing at the top of someone’s car” replied Laura.

“Look, Laura. You’re not gonna win anything by beating a drunken stranger with a spatula.” reasoned Danny.

Laura deflated, lowering her arm that held the spatula, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Laura paused and looked at Carmilla who was now scowling at Danny, “Sooo, what do we do? We can’t just leave her here, it’s dangerous being out this late and she’s wasted.”

“Well, we can take her to the dorm? It’s better than leaving her on the street peeing on cars and doing God knows what” suggested Danny.

Laura thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement. This should be interesting. Laura walked to Carmilla and kneeled down in front of her to properly button up her pants before putting her in the car. She gave Carmilla the spatula to hold and Carmilla seemed deeply amused with the spatula as she was moving it back and forth in front of her; that was, until she felt where Laura’s hands were.

“Woah cutie, slooow downn, you have to take me out to dinner first” said Carmilla with a huge grin.

Laura blushed slightly at this comment, but decided to ignore it since it was coming from a drunk almost-stranger.

Laura furrowed her eyebrows before asking curiously, “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Yooooou” pointed Carmilla, “can call me whatever you like, sweetheart”

 _Wow,_ Laura thought, _this girl had absolutely no shame when she’s drunk._

Carmilla thought about it and figured telling her what her name was wouldn’t hurt. But when she tried, she got tongue tied.

“My name’s Carmm, Carmelll, Caremill-“Carmilla sighed.

“Caramel?” asked Laura, scrunching her face in confusion.

This was a lot harder than Carmilla thought.

“Oh! I think her name’s Carmilla if I remember correctly, I think I’ve seen her around with Elsie a couple times” said Danny.  
Carmilla turned to face Danny, “Thaaanks Clifford”

Laura giggled at the sound of the nickname, “Yeah, thanks _Clifford_ ” she told Danny.

Danny turned to Laura, “Oh yeah, no problem _sweetheart_ ”

Laura glared at Danny, “This means nothing”

“Suuure, Hollis. If you say so. C’mon, let’s get her in the car before it gets any later” said Danny walking to go help pickup Carmilla.

Danny and Laura helped Carmilla walk over to the passenger’s door, each taking turns having Carmilla stumble on them. Danny held Carmilla up while Laura opened the door for her.

“W-wait” stuttered Carmilla.

“What is it?” asked Laura

“I-I think I have to-“and with that half warning out, Carmilla turned away from the car, puking all over the pavement.

Danny shuffled slightly away from Carmilla, but was still close enough to help her stand. Laura quickly grabbed the hair tie from around her wrist and tied Carmilla’s hair up, then helped hold Carmilla’s bangs out of her face.

“Well, that was close” huffed Danny

Carmilla tried to stand up straight before bending over to puke all over again, this time a little too close to Danny.

“Spoke to soon.” Danny closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “And now, she owes me a pair of shoes”

“I’ll grab a towel” Laura said, reaching for the spatula Carmilla was still holding onto so she can put it away. Laura decided against this as Carmilla gave her a threatening look, moving closer to Danny, as she held the spatula close to her. If Carmilla wasn’t drunk, this look would have been more effective, but Laura couldn’t help but smile at the sight of drunk Carmilla being protective over a spatula.

Laura grabbed an old towel and a water bottle from a box she had on the floor in the back. She wet the towel and walked over to Carmilla. Laura gently cleaned up Carmilla’s mouth and handed the towel over to Danny so she could clean her shoes.

“Okay, I think. I’m sure I’m good now” slurred Carmilla.

“Good. Because if you throw up in my car, you’re cleaning it when you’re sober” replied Laura, walking around to hop in the driver’s seat while Danny helped Carmilla get into the backseat and buckle up.

* * *

 

**4:00am**

On their way back to Silas, Laura was caught up thinking about Carmilla’s name. Sure, it sounded familiar. It rang a bell, but she couldn’t quite place where she had heard that name before. Laura lost her train of thought as she heard some rummaging in the backseat.

“Are these creampuffs? I _love_ creampuffs” said Carmilla, holding a clear plastic box full of pastries.

“Hey! Put those back! Those are not for you!” Laura yelled as Carmilla was struggling to open the box of creampuffs.

“Oh, they are now” Carmilla said smugly as she picked up a creampuff up and placed it in her mouth.

“I am _not_ risking you throwing that up in my car”

Laura stopped the car, thankfully there was no one behind her. Before she could reach to the back to take the box away from Carmilla, Danny put her arm forward to hold Laura in her seat.

“Laura, just let the drunk child have the creampuffs. The sooner we get to Silas, the sooner she goes to bed” said Danny in an exhausted tone.

Laura took one look at Danny then gave in, “Fine.” Laura gave Carmilla a stern look, “But don’t finish them” she said as she began driving again.

Laura was finally at peace once the rummaging in the backseat stopped. She thought Carmilla had fallen asleep, except she couldn’t be more wrong. Carmilla was preoccupied in the backseat with the spatula, swishing it around and pretending it was a sword. This kept her quiet, only until she recognized a song on the radio.

“ _Ohmygod_ , turn up the volume!” said Carmilla ecstatically a little louder than expected.

The sudden outburst from the drunk girl made Laura jump up a little in her seat, and thus returned her irritation. Laura gave Danny a defeated look then nodded and Danny reached out to turn up the volume.

For the remainder of the drive to Silas, Carmilla was singing her little drunk heart out in the backseat of Laura’s car while using her spatula as a microphone. The set list started with Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” and ended with Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.”

At first Laura was incredibly annoyed, hating every second of this car ride. Then she noticed that for a drunk girl, Carmilla actually had a really nice voice. It wasn’t loud and obnoxious, and she was actually hitting the notes that she wasn’t slurring. Laura ended up joining Carmilla a couple songs in and the car ride ended with Carmilla and Laura both singing along to Taylor Swift. Danny had joined them too, but somehow she ended up falling asleep in the middle of all the noise.

Once Laura parked the car and got the keys out of the ignition she gently shook Danny to wake her up. Danny never thought she would live to see the say where she was glad to finally be back at Silas and eagerly stepped out the car, pulling her seat up so Carmilla could get out. But Carmilla was fumbling trying to get out of the car.

Danny extended her arm to help Carmilla out, letting Carmilla lean against the car. Laura came around and realized Carmilla still had the spatula in her hand, so she reached out to grab the spatula and Carmilla lazily moved her arm, holding the spatula away from Laura and pouted at her.

Laura raised her hands in surrender, “Okay, suit yourself” and locked her car door.

Laura turned to Danny, “So, how are we gonna get her to the dorm? I was thinking maybe you can grab one side and I can grab the other or maybe I can grab her feet and you can get her shoulders or-“

“Laura, it’s okay, I got this” Danny said cutting off Laura’s rambling as she kneeled in front of Carmilla with her back towards her.

Carmilla looked at Danny “Woah, this is so soon. Usually when you propose, you’re supposed to be facing the person”

“Ugh, shut up and hop on. And for God’s sake don’t throw up on me again.” demanded Danny.

Carmilla obliged, “Sure thing Big Red” and saluted Danny before wrapping her arms around Danny’s shoulders and her legs around her waist. Danny made sure to maintain a strong grip on Carmilla as to not drop her and stood back up.

“Are you sure you can carry her all the way to the dorm? Won’t you get tired?” asked a concerned Laura.

“Laura, I’m fine. She’s pretty light. Plus, I work out” shrugged Danny, reassuring Laura as she started walking with the drunk girl on her back.

Almost immediately Carmilla started pointing the spatula she was still carrying at random objects in order to “cast spells,” which Danny and Laura tried to ignore. That was until one spell was directed at Laura.

“Uhm, what _spell_ did you just put on me?” asked Laura, doing air quotations around the word “spell.”

“Just one to make you grow a little, sweetheart. I think you needed more milk in your diet, whereas my noble steed Clifford here had a little too much” replied Carmilla as she patted Danny’s head.

“Hey I am not your nob-” said Danny before getting cut off by Carmilla

“Shh, _onward!_ For Narnia!” shouted Carmilla, raising what was now her “sword” in the air.

“ _This would’ve made great blackmail material. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner_ ” huffed Danny under her breath.

* * *

 

**4:30am**

  
The three girls got back to the room safe and sound. Danny set Carmilla down in the bathroom and Laura came in to hand Carmilla a change of clothes.

“Here’s some pajamas because your clothes kinda reek of alcohol and vomit. Think you can handle changing on your own?” asked Laura.

“If it means a pretty girl like you is gonna take off my clothes, I wouldn’t mind a little help” replied Carmilla, trying to wink but completely failed.

“Yeah, I think you can handle it on your own” said Laura and she turned to exit the bathroom. When she began to close the door, she was able to see Carmilla stuck with her shirt over her head in an attempt to take it off.

Laura paused, sighed, and went back to help Carmilla gently take her shirt off. As she was doing that, Carmilla stumbled backward and Laura quickly grabbed hold of her bare hips so she wouldn’t fall. They paused in that position and locked eyes. Carmilla’s facial expression slightly shifting, suddenly intrigued by Laura. Searching for something familiar in her eyes.

A flush of nervousness washed across Laura’s face and Laura broke eye contact to grab her oversized Orphan Black t-shirt. She placed it over Carmilla’s head, focusing more on getting Carmilla clothed, then helped her successfully put her arms through.

“Uhm, thanks” said Carmilla, lowering her gaze and fixing the shirt.

“Yeah, no problem. Uh, here are the pants.” Replied Laura, handing over some Marvel designed pajama pants over to Carmilla.

“Just uhm. Call if you need help. Imma just. Imma go change.” mumbled Laura awkwardly as she quickly grabbed the spatula that was set on the bathroom sink before heading out the door.

* * *

 

Carmilla put her hair down, placing Laura’s hair tie in a little bowl next to the sink along with other hair ties. She attempted to take her pants off standing up but came to the conclusion that was a bad idea after almost falling once again for a second time. She sat on the edge of the tub and tried once again to take her pants off, struggling more when the right pant leg got stuck around her ankle. Not wanting to bother the small girl, she tried kicking off her pants and smacked her pinky toe with the toilet.

 _“Fuck. Damn these tight pants, why are they even in style?”_ Carmilla hissed.

Carmilla stood up, this time leaning against the wall and stepped on her pants, lifting her other foot; successfully freeing her ankle. She grabbed the pajama pants and put them on a lot easier. _These should be socially acceptable to wear everywhere,_ Carmilla thought. She looked at herself in the mirror and winced at what she was wearing, but was still drunk and too tired to care much about it. Plus if she had to admit, the clothes smelled pretty good.

Aside from the smell of fabric softener, there was a lingering scent of vanilla that Carmilla found to be soothing. She couldn’t quite narrow down what it was about it, but it reminded her of simpler times when she was a child. Times when there was nothing in the world to worry about except what cartoon she wanted to watch or deciding what she wanted to eat. Or when the most difficult thing there was to fix was as simple as a scraped knee and the answer was as easy to obtain as a Band-Aid. It was a scent that was forever etched in her mind.

 _God, I’m being a nostalgic idiot_ , she thought.

She walked out the bathroom and noticed the two girls already asleep. Danny was on her bed with her feet on the verge of hanging off and Carmilla snickered. Then she noticed the other bed was vacant and her eyes fell upon the small girl curled up on the floor sleeping peacefully, surrounded by a bunch of blankets and pillows.

Carmilla thought about waking the small girl up because she didn’t want to be the reason to deprive her from sleeping on her own bed, but decided against it since she was probably exhausted after a long night. Not wanting to waste a good bed, Carmilla laid down on Laura’s bed, resting her head on the yellow pillow and pulling the blankets up over her. The yellow pillow smelled like a combination of a fruity shampoo scent with the same vanilla smell from her borrowed clothes. Carmilla found herself fast asleep within seconds, being engulfed in the soothing scent of what was Laura Hollis.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! Let me know what you think (:


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